


Save Me

by PeriodDramaWriter



Category: The Sound of Music - Rodgers/Hammerstein/Lindsay & Crouse
Genre: Assault, F/M, HusbandandWife, Romance, Violence, hurtandcomfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-08-08 23:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeriodDramaWriter/pseuds/PeriodDramaWriter
Summary: When Maria is attacked whilst taking a walk to clear her head after a heated dispute with her husband she simply can't find the strength to tell him lest he kill her assailant. The only one whom she believes she can truly confide in is the Reverend Mother. Will Georg ever know why the woman he loves is so guarded? If he does will she let him help her? Find out here! Please comment!





	1. Chapter 1

Whilst the new-born scratches and bruises that covered Maria's face caused her a considerable amount of pain, it was nothing compared to the agonising melancholiness and fear that lived within her heart. She was unable to stop her cut hands from trembling as they were sat in her lap and it took what little strength she had left to hold back the furious tears that were stinging in her eyes as the Reverend Mother carefully pushed a fresh cup of tea towards her. 'Drink this, Maria.' She instructed softly as she looked into the young woman's eyes, her heart breaking as she saw nothing aside from pain, confusion and trepidation glistening in her crystal blue irises. 'It's well-sugared; it'll help with the shaking.' Maria only shook her head quietly in response before dropping the Mother Abbess's gaze and focusing upon her scraped hands as they wrung nervously together within her lap.

'I hope you don't find me impertinent, Mother, but I won't if you'll forgive me. I'm not really thirsty and I'd only spill it everywhere if I accepted.' She admitted, her trembling voice no higher than a whisper.

'Maria, I always want you to feel as though you have a family here as well as at your Villa.' The Reverend Mother told her as she settled back in her chair. 'I never want you to feel as though you're no longer welcome here or that I or any of the Sisters here won't welcome you with open arms. I know that you're afraid and I know that you're in pain, but I need you to understand that you can talk to me.' Maria lifted her tear-filled gaze to the Mother Abbess's love-filled one a short time later, her bottom lip - which had gotten split during her assault - beginning to quiver uncontrollably as she swallowed the violent tears that were clawing their way up her throat.

'I just-' Maria sighed tearfully as she gazed up at the ceiling. 'I feel as though the world's against me at the moment, Mother. I can't help feeling as though I'm constantly letting those I love down.'

'My child, why do you feel that way?' The elder woman asked.

'Three months ago, back when the Captain and I were in Paris on our honeymoon, I went to the doctor after a week of feeling under the weather and returned to the hotel that afternoon with the news that I was pregnant. When I told the Captain about the baby I committed the look on his face to memory because _never -_ not even when he asked me to marry him, throughout our engagement or on our wedding day - had I seen such love in his eyes.' Maria sniffed, a slight smile appearing on her lips for a moment before vanishing instantly. 'We hadn't even discussed trying for a baby or expanding our family at that point and yet we were beside ourselves with joy at the thought of becoming parents.' Her voice broke quietly before she swallowed hard once more, the Reverend Mother feeling her eyes starting to sting with tears of their own as she knew exactly what was coming.

'It was two weeks later when I woke up to terrible abdominal cramps and Georg had to hold me close whilst I miscarried. I don't know which pain was worse, the physical or emotional, but I knew it was the worst I'd ever felt before.' A solitary tear trickled over the curve of the Mother Abbess's cheek then before she reached up to wipe it away, Maria sighing as she looked over at her.'He just held me in his arms for hours afterwards whilst I cried and I kept apologising, and even though he was just as heartbroken as I was he just kept stroking my hair and reminding me that there was nothing that I could have done to cause or to prevent it from happening. Things slowly began to go back to normal after a few days and when we got home we tried to put it behind us and just focus on settling down with the children, but everything's just so different from the way it was before. I feel as though everyone - with the exception of Georg, maybe - expects me to live up to Baroness Schraeder's standards and be just like her: elegant and self-confident, but I'm not her, Mother, I'm not as strong as her.'

'Maria.' The Reverend Mother sighed as she stood from her chair and slowly made her way around to the nervous young woman who was the closest thing she had to a biological daughter, Maria meeting her gaze once she had pulled up a chair beside her and had taken her bruised hand in her own. 'You are _just_ as strong as Baroness Schraeder. You are beautiful,' She whispered as she brought her hand up to cup Maria's bruised cheek softly in her palm, stroking her thumb against the warm skin there. 'You have a heart of pure gold and I can see as well as anyone that you love your husband and your seven beautiful children and that they love you so deeply.' A single tear danced down Maria's cheek then, a tearful sigh escaping the ex-postulant as she nuzzled into the elder woman's hand and allowed her eyes to flutter closed of their own accord.

'You are a wonderful Baroness and the only opinions that should matter are the opinions of your husband and your children, darling.' The Mother Abbess couldn't help but sigh as she watched Maria's split lip begin to bleed once more. 'Would you like me to telephone the Captain and tell him what's happened?' Maria's crystal blue eyes snapped open then, a flash of fear crossing them as she pulled away from the Reverend Mother's tender caresses with a shake of her head.

'No!' She breathed. 'No, please don't. _Promise_ me that you won't say a word to him about any of this, Mother!'

'My child, you are in no fit state to walk home. It's getting close to midnight now, do you _want_ him to go out of his mind with worry for you?' The Mother Abbess asked gently.

'Do _you_ want me to be made a widow just seven months after my wedding day?' Maria replied tearfully. 'I know my husband, Mother, I know that he wouldn't hesitate to kill a man if he found out that he had lay a finger on me. One of the Barons at a party that the Captain and I held a few weeks ago caressed my cheek without my permission and before I knew it the Captain's arm was around me and he was giving the man an earful. If he loses his temper over a man putting his hand on me with the intention of showing me affection can you imagine what he'd do to a man who put his hand on me with the intention of causing me harm?' She whispered.

'Maria, your husband loves you with his entire heart and soul, I saw that on your wedding day.' The Reverend Mother told her. 'You must tell him about what has happened to you; the truth will come out sooner or later.'

'And when I do tell him,' Maria sniffed. 'Will you come with me to the prison when my husband is hanged for murdering a man in order to defend my honour?'

The Mother Abbess couldn't stifle the deep sigh that escaped her as she took the young woman's hand slowly in her own and ran her thumb across her knuckles. 'Who did this to you?' She asked, tears coating her voice.

'I can't tell you.' Maria whimpered. 'I re-live what he did to me every time I think of his face or hear his voice in my head, Mother, but I need you to support me. I need you to respect my decision not to tell the Captain.'

'Very well.' The Mother Abbess sighed, leaning forwards to press a warm kiss onto her forehead. 'But I wish you would tell him and allow him to help you out of this veil of shadows.'

'I would rather hide this from him and be able to wake up with his arms wrapped around me every morning than tell him the truth and have him torn away from me and our children forever.' Maria's voice cracked gently then before she broke down into heart-wrenching sobs and covered her face with her scraped and bruised hands, the Reverend Mother feeling her heart shatter into thousands of tiny pieces before she wrapped her arms around the terrified young woman before her and brought her close, cradling the back of her head tenderly in her palm as Maria's grip upon her habit was vice-like as she sobbed loudly into the side of her neck. 'I was so scared, Mother!' She choked out as the elder woman stroked her short strawberry-blonde hair comfortingly. 'I only intended to go out for a short walk to clear my head after our fight but the next thing I knew it'd gotten dark and then - and then I-'

'Oh, my sweet girl.' The Reverend Mother whimpered softly into her hair as she turned her head to press a slow kiss to the side of her own. 'Maria, listen to me.' She instructed lovingly as she brought Maria carefully out of her arms in order to meet her gaze, a gentle sigh escaping her as she brought her hands up to wipe away the tears that had become caught upon the young woman's skin. 'I know where there is some powder that we can use to cover up these bruises. You will have to re-apply it in the morning because it will fade overnight but I will apply enough now in order for it to last until you and the Captain turn in for the night. As for your lip,' She spoke gently as she brushed her thumb delicately against the small slice in Maria's lip, wincing when a sharp hiss came from the ex-postulant in response. 'You will have to think of an excuse that you can give to the Captain so that he doesn't become suspicious, but that shouldn't be too difficult.' Maria nodded weakly. 'I just - I can't believe that anyone could willingly do this to you.' She admitted as she cupped her injured face.

'I'm not the first woman to be attacked whilst out walking at night, Mother, and I won't be the last.' Maria reminded her as she reached up to cover one of her soft hands with her own.

'More's the pity.' The Reverend Mother sighed as she brushed her thumbs lightly against her cheekbones. 'Now, I want you to finish your tea now that you're not shaking so terribly whilst I go and find the powder. Then I will ask the caretaker to drive you home to the Villa, alright?' Maria nodded once again in response before leaning forward to bring the teacup into her hands and taking a slow sip of the warm liquid, a hum of satisfaction escaping her as it was terribly soothing to her sore throat. She watched the Reverend Mother stand from the chair beside her then before the elder woman made her way across the room towards the door. The Reverend Mother turned back to her after reaching out to grasp the doorknob, a gentle sigh escaping her lips as there was nothing but love in her eyes. 'Maria?' She spoke softly.

'Yes, Mother?' Maria replied as she turned slightly in her seat.

'I - I love you.' She told her. 'I know I probably shouldn't say it, but I do.'

'I love you too.' Maria reassured her as she ran the pad of her thumb slowly around the rim of her teacup. 'Just as deeply as I would love you if you were my real mother.'

Then, with a loving nod of her head in response, the Reverend Mother made her way through the door before going in search of the powder.

* * *

As she entered the Villa just a short while after midnight, the first thing that she observed was the thick, eerie silence that lived within the walls, and for the first time that day Maria was able to breathe a slight sigh of relief. It seemed that her wish had been granted: everyone was asleep. She took a few moments to survey the place that she called her home and although she was still shaking in result to all that she'd endured at the hands of... _him... -_ and at the thought of facing her husband - her heart swelled slightly with a pang of safety. Whilst she was terrified of facing her husband, she knew that nothing bad would ever happen to her within these four walls. With tentative steps she began to make her way up the stairs - hoping with all her being that no-one in the Villa would stir and discover her; but as she reached her desired floor, it seemed as though her wish would not be granted as the door to the bedroom that she owned alongside Georg was practically thrown open and she caught a glimpse of the man himself. _'Just act natural.'_ She told herself. _'Just act natural.'_

'Maria.' He breathed in relief as he approached her with determined strides, Maria unable to even open her mouth to speak before his deliciously warm lips were upon hers and his strong hands were upon her hips as she was pressed up against the wall. Her split lip stung awfully with each long and firm kiss that her husband left upon her mouth but she couldn't find it within herself to care as she clung to the lapels of his jacket, her head spinning slightly when he allowed one hand to leave her hip in order to cup the side of her neck in its palm as he slowly deepened their kiss. Their kisses soon took on much more of a languid nature as the initial shock of her late return began to wear off, every caress of their lips against the other's slow and soft as he brushed the thumb of one hand against the jut of her hip through her skirt and the thumb of the other along her jawline. 'Oh my darling, where on earth have you been?' He breathed once they had parted and he pressed his forehead warmly against her own, their warm and heavy breathing mingling as she held tightly to his jacket's lapels.

'I told you,' She replied softly as she gazed into his stormy blue eyes. 'I went for a walk to give us both time to calm down.'

'Yes, but neither of us needed _four hours_ to calm down, Maria.' He growled gently. 'Do you have any idea of how worried I've been? How many times I've considered telephoning the police tonight?' He removed his warm hand from the side of her neck in order to cup the smooth curve of her cheek lovingly in its palm, Maria's heart aching at the slight tears of genuine fear that were sparkling in his eyes. 'Anything could have happened to you when you were alone out there tonight and if the police had shown up here without me telephoning them - if they'd shown up to tell me that something had happened to you - I don't know what I would have done. I was completely out of line for the way that I spoke to you this afternoon and I hate myself for some of the things that I said to you, but even if we argue, that does not mean that you can just go disappearing for hours.'

'I know.' She whimpered softly with gentle tears sparkling in her own eyes as they allowed the tips of their noses to graze. 'I'm so sorry, Georg, I never meant to scare you.'

'I know you didn't, darling, it's okay.' He soothed with a lingering kiss to her forehead. 'But next time, you-' He cut himself off then before taking his wife's chin carefully upon his index finger. 'What on earth happened to your lip?' His brow furrowed as he inspected it carefully for a moment, brushing his thumb softly against the dry blood that remained upon her bottom lip. 'Maria, you didn't have this cut when you stormed out earlier on. Did something happen when you were out walking? Did someone hurt you?' His once gentle voice had suddenly grown dark with concern and slight fury at the thought of anyone daring to lay a single hand upon his wife.

'Oh, my darling, no!' She forbade her voice to crack and give her away as she strived to sound as reassuring as possible, her soft hand slipping around to the back of his neck before she drew him into a warm kiss. She hummed softly in contentment against his lips when his strong hands found the curves of her waist and he drew her further into him, one of her hands coming to settle upon his strong chest through his shirt as she stroked the slightly-graying hairs at the nape of his neck before lingering just for a moment as she brushed a final slow and soft kiss against his lower lip, their gazes meeting once more before she pulled away with a loving smile. 'Is it okay if I take a bath before I come to bed? I know it's late but I'm still a little cold from my walk and I think having a bath will help me warm up and relax a little.' Georg smiled affectionately down at her before bringing her closer by the waist and allowing her to wrap her arms slowly around his middle before she snuggled against his chest with a gentle sigh.

'You don't have to ask for my permission to have a bath, Maria.' He murmured softly into her strawberry-blonde hair before pressing a tender kiss to her head. 'But you do have to answer my question on how you cut your lip. You say that no-one hurt you and I hope that's true, but one way or another you've been hurt and I want to know how this happened.' She lifted her head from his chest then, her arms remaining around his waist as she gazed up at him.

'I had a small fall when I was out walking. I lost my footing and that's how I've cut my hands and lip, but I'm fine. I just need to wash the cut with salt-water for a few days so it doesn't get infected and then it should start healing.' She told him with a quiet sigh, her lips pursing slightly as she tore her gaze away from his own momentarily in order to cast it down to the deep red carpet beneath her feet. She could feel her heart pounding sickeningly against her ribs once more. She just prayed he couldn't hear it.

Georg wasn't convinced. If he knew his wife - and he did - he knew that she detested the thought of burdening he or anyone else with her problems, no matter how large or how serious the issue was. She had been raised by an Uncle who had forbidden her to voice her fears or concerns when she had lived under his roof as a young girl and when she had joined the Abbey she had been forbidden to draw attention to herself and so she'd simply kept herself to herself. He knew that she was lying in order to cover up what had really happened out on those streets earlier that evening and even though his fury was raging deep within him at another human being laying so much as a finger on his sweet, innocent wife, he knew that the last thing she needed at that given moment was to have questions thrown at her. She was scared, he could see it in her eyes no matter how hard she attempted to disguise it. Something much more serious than a simple fall had happened to her that evening, but at that moment Georg knew that there was only one thing that he could do. Support her.

'Come here.' He told her gently, reaching up to cup her jaw warmly in his palm before he tilted back her head and dipped his own in order to brush a soft and chaste kiss against her injured lip. 'I love you.' He murmured as he rested his forehead against her own, pressing a light kiss to the tip of her pointed nose.

'I love you too.' She whispered, brushing her thumb against his lower back through his jacket. 'Desperately.'

'Go on.' He stroked her face. 'Go and get into the bath and then you can come and have a snuggle with me. I missed holding you in my arms on the settee in my study after the children went to bed this evening.'

'I missed _being_ in your arms this evening.' She admitted, a radiant smile upon her lips. 'But I'm back now and I am more than willing to accept your offer of snuggling after I've had my bath.'

The two of them shared a soft chuckle together then before indulging in a final long and slow kiss, Georg taking his wife's hand warmly in his own before he led her into their bedroom.

* * *

'The children are going to be pleased to see you back safe when we go down to breakfast in the morning.' Georg hummed softly against the warm skin of his wife's shoulder a short time later as the two of them lay together in the safety of their bed, the one source of light being the small lamp upon Maria's bedside table as she lay securely in her husband's arms and he was curled around her. 'I told you I was worried about you - and I was - but the children were all in pieces when I told them that it was time to go to bed when it turned 11:00. All of the children are sleeping in the same room because they wanted one another close by since you weren't here.' Maria smiled sleepily at the thought of her seven children, brushing her thumb against her husband's wrist.

'I'm sorry that I worried you all so much.' She sighed gently as she rolled onto her back a few moments later and Georg shifted slightly so that he was laying beside her whilst propped up on his elbow, stroking his fingertips delicately along the sharpness of his wife's jaw. 'I planned to go for a walk through the park and back again but I guess I lost track of the time. When I saw it getting dark I started making my way home and that's when I fell, but I hurt my foot a little and so it took a little longer than I first thought.' She sighed deeply as she dropped her husband's gaze momentarily. 'Can I ask you something, Georg?' She asked softly when she finally cast her gaze up towards him once again, Georg nodding gently as he lay down slowly beside her with a sigh.

'You can ask me _anything.'_ He reassured her. 'And I hope you always will.' He drew her close then and rolled slowly onto his back in order to allow her to curl into his side, her head coming to settle upon his bare shoulder.

'Do you ever think about - about the baby I lost when we were in Paris? I mean, I would be almost eight months pregnant by now if I hadn't miscarried and we would have had the cot set up by now.' Her lips curled up into a slightly solemn smile.

'I think about our baby every single day.' He admitted as he gazed up at the ceiling and began to stroke his fingers through her hair. 'But I know why you're asking and _no_ , I don't blame you for the loss of it.'

'I still remember you holding me in your arms that night, you know.' She whispered as she stroked the tips of her fingers against the long scar on his chest that he'd gained by serving in the Navy. 'The way that you promised me we'd get past it together.'

'And we did, didn't we?' He murmured softly against her hairline before smiling lovingly down at her when she tilted her head back against his shoulder.

'Yes,' She whispered as she traced the sharpness of his jaw with her fingertips. 'We did.'

'And soon,' He started as he allowed his hand to come to settle upon her lower abdomen through her nightgown. 'If you would like to, we could always start trying properly.'

'Really?' She breathed, the thought of bearing her husband's beautiful child making her heart soar despite the nauseating worry that she felt at the thought of her husband potentially finding the number of bruises that she had just discovered upon her body.

'Really.' He reassured her with a slow kiss to her lips. 'I want to watch your belly grow along with our baby and I want to be able to hold you in my arms every night, feeling our child kick from within you as my hand rests upon your stomach.'

'Oh, Georg, I want that too.' She whimpered as she cupped the side of his neck in her palm and accepted the several warm and lingering kisses that he left upon her lips. 'More than anything, my darling, more than anything.'

'Let's wait for a few weeks first and ask the children how they would feel if we were to have a baby, and then we can go from there, hmm?' He smiled as he stroked her slightly damp hair lovingly.

'I love you so much.' She sniffed, the tears in her eyes a mixture of both happiness at the thought of carrying her husband's child within her body, yet also heartbreak as she thought about the dark secret that she was concealing from him.

'I love you too, my beautiful Baroness.' He whispered before pressing his lips to her temple. 'Now, turn out the lamp and come and get some sleep. You look exhausted, my angel, and no wonder.' She nodded obediently then before extracting herself from his arms and shifting slightly in order to turn out the lamp upon her bedside table. When she shifted closer to her husband once again and he wrapped his arm tenderly around her waist before drawing her close, she released a gentle whimper of slight pain. The sound made him feel sick to his stomach as his eyes fell closed momentarily and he felt his heart begin to ache just slightly. A fall as minor as the one she had supposedly taken couldn't have left her in such discomfort, surely. 'Maria?' He whispered into the darkness, his wife humming softly in response as she draped her arm slowly over his stomach and anchored herself to him as he turned his head towards her to gaze into her eyes. 'Are you sure that you're alright?' The concern was evident in his eyes.

'I'm fine, I just ache a little from the amount of walking I did this evening.' She lied. 'I'll be fine in the morning after I take some aspirin.'

'If you're sure...' He replied, brushing his thumb soothingly against her hip through her nightgown.

'I am.' She told him gently, once again forcing herself to sound as convincing as possible as she snuggled slowly into his side. 'Goodnight, darling.' She whispered before nuzzling a soft kiss into the side of his neck.

'Goodnight, sweetheart.' He sighed into her hair, kissing her head warmly. 'Pleasant dreams.'

She scoffed inwardly to herself at that, a gentle sigh escaping her as she swallowed the tears that were clawing their way up her throat once again. _'Pleasant dreams...'_ She sighed to herself. _'If only he knew.'_


	2. Chapter 2

_The dark streets of Salzburg were barren and crisp, doused in a thick fog with only a single beam of moonlight to illuminate the ominous pathway. The chill of the late night air spiked down the warm flesh of her bare back as it snuck beneath the collar of her jacket - like sharp fingernails dragging across her skin - and all of a sudden she was disoriented. She swore that she had been down this street many times before - sometimes with the children after an outing and sometimes after a perfect date with her husband - but it all seemed so foreign to her now that she was walking it alone. And she was terrified. Her mind was already all over the place after her heated argument with Georg earlier that evening and the loud screeching of feral cats down alleyways was making her feel anything but safe. Nevertheless, she continued walking down the dimly lit street, praying with all her being that familiarity would soon arise, but there was nothing. No new sights and not a single sound. She was truly submerged in the fear of this place._

_Then, without the slightest warning, a solid figure stepped slowly out in front of her and she was suddenly paralyzed. Unable to move, to think, to breathe. It was Herr Zeller. He seemed to be taller than he'd been at the party that she and her husband had hosted just three weeks earlier - more overpowering - but those thoughts vanished the moment he reached out and took her by the throat. 'My, my, what are you doing out here all by yourself, Fraulein? These streets can be very dangerous after dark, you know?' He sneered._

_She tried her hardest to speak but little more than soft squeaks escaped her throat as he kept his grip firm and pushed her back against the cold, wet walls - cornering her. 'It's not like you to be so quiet, Fraulein, you are usually the first one to speak up when something displeases you. You don't happen to remember that little party that your husband invited me to not too long ago, do you? When you made me look like a fool before Baron and Baroness Heideck by standing up for that traitorous coward of a husband that you have? You should have held your tongue, Baroness. Maybe then you wouldn't be in this little predicament.' He inched his face closer to hers. 'How **dare** you do that to me?' He spat, his eyes growing dark with fury as he looked into those of the young Baroness. Suddenly, the fear that'd been living in Maria's light blue eyes disappeared and was replaced by deep anger at how the pathetic excuse of a man before her had described the man she loved. She reached up slowly then and took a firm hold of Zeller's wrist before sharply tearing his large hand from around her throat._

_'Did you really believe that I was going to simply stand by and allow you to tarnish my husband's reputation?' She scoffed. 'Did you really believe that - in my own home - I was going to remain silent and allow you to refer to my husband as a coward in front of two people who greatly admire and hold deep respect for him? Because if you did, I'm afraid you were mistaken. You see, the difference between yourself and my husband is that he's deeply respected and admired because people are genuinely fond of him. He doesn't have to intimidate or threaten people to get them on his side. You refer to Captain von Trapp as a weak man and a coward and yet he is the one who was decorated by the Emperor **himself**. You call my husband a coward and yet he is the one who sank thirteen ships in the war without losing a single man.' She shook her head slowly at him, disgust written across her face. 'And you, She scowled. 'You've just had your hand around my throat and you've just forced me - a woman - up against a wall, all because I hurt your feelings. I think we both know who the real coward is.'_

_A barely audible chuckle escaped Herr Zeller's lips as he stepped slightly closer to her, the fear returning in her eyes for just a moment as she took a step back before she forced it to disappear once again. 'If your precious Captain was truly the brave man that you make him out to be, surely he wouldn't need to get his wife to fight his battles for him. He does have a voice, doesn't he, Baroness? Because he never seems to when I'm around.'_

_Maria hummed in response as she glared up at him. 'Oh, he does.' She assured him. 'He just doesn't see the point in wasting it on the likes of you.'_

_'Nothing has changed, Baroness, you realise that don't you?' He questioned. 'You may be the spouse of Captain von Trapp - though why you're comfortable with being known to society as the wife of a coward, I don't know - and you may be wealthier than you were when we first met, but nothing has really changed, has it? You're always going to be the woman who was orphaned at the age of ten and forced to live with an Uncle who couldn't care less about her.' Maria felt a pang of hurt at Zeller's words and she knew it was evident in her light blue eyes when she lifted her gaze to his. 'You're always going to be the woman who ran away from home on the day she turned eighteen and joined a convent, even though she and everyone else could see that she just wasn't cut out for it.' Maria tore her gaze away from his then and cast it down to the floor as her tears stung her eyes._

_'How - how do you know so much about my past?' She asked softly, her voice no higher than a whisper as the tears caught in her throat._

_'Ah, we're not so confident and mouthy now, are we?' Zeller smirked, hooking his finger beneath the young Baroness's chin before he directed her gaze back to his and could see the gentle tears glistening in her eyes. 'Oh, my dear, I can find out anything I like about anyone I want. That's the perks that come with getting people to respect you through - what was it that you said - intimidation and threats?' Maria glared up at him once again, berating herself inwardly as a solitary tear danced down her porcelain cheek. 'There's no need for tears, Baroness.' Zeller tutted softly before cupping the curve of her cheek in his palm and stopping the tear in its tracks by delicately sweeping it away with the pad of his thumb, Maria's eyes widening slightly before she quickly removed his hand from her cheek._

_'Don't touch me.' She hissed softly, a disgusted look upon her face. 'The Captain will kill you if he finds out you've lay a **finger** on me.'_

_'Ah, yes.' He nodded. 'I forgot you're his **property** now.'_

_'I **am** his property.' Her brow furrowed. 'I belong to him, I've been his property since the moment I agreed to become his wife.'_

_Zeller sneered at her in silence._

_'Oh, you're infuriating!' She snapped, her eyes flaring with anger. 'Now let me by.' She pushed him away from her sharply then before beginning to make her way past him, her heart pounding when he seized her wrist. It was then that she felt an intense burning sensation course through her cheek as she collapsed onto the sidewalk, a gentle yelp escaping her as the lower half of her face came into contact with the concrete. She didn't move for several long seconds after she'd hit the ground, the pain in her cheek and face and body too intense for her to think of anything else. When she finally managed to muster up enough strength to lever herself up onto her elbow though, she couldn't help but gasp sharply after pressing her fingertips lightly against her lower lip and gazing down at them to see a considerable amount of blood coating her skin. Then, without a single warning, she was sharply pulled onto her back and her wrists were pinned either side of her head on the sidewalk as she found herself gazing up at Herr Zeller, her crystal blue eyes wide with terror as he scowled at her._

_'If you tell the Captain or anyone about a single detail of what has transpired here tonight I swear I will make your life miserable, do you understand?' He spat as she trembled violently. 'Maria!'_

* * *

 

'Maria!' A sickening gasp escaped her lips as her terror-filled eyes sprang open and she found herself gazing up at her unmistakably concerned husband as her chest rose and fell sharply and he had her wrists pinned firmly at either side of her head upon her pillow, her husband's gentle stormy blue eyes filled with deep concern and fright as he was hovered over her violently trembling body whilst his strong chest was rising and falling just as heavily as hers. 'Shh..' He soothed gently as he watched her struggling to find the words to say, her crystal blue eyes glimmering with tears as he pressed his index finger tenderly against her rosy lips and stroked his thumb comfortingly against the rough skin of her grazed chin.

'It was only a nightmare, my beautiful girl, you're safe, I promise.' He heard her expel a trembling sigh of relief then before the first tear escaped her eye and danced slowly down the side of her face, a gentle sob escaping her as the solitary tear landed on her pillowcase just moments before she gave up on attempting to fight against her emotions and loud pained sobs began to escape her. 'Oh, darling...' Georg sighed deeply as he released her wrists before shifting carefully to lay down next to her, Maria going willingly intro his embrace as she hyperventilated.

'It just - it just felt so real, Georg, he was so violent with me and I was so terrified!' She choked out through her sobs as her face was buried into the coarse dark hair upon his chest and he could feel her light tears falling upon his warm skin, his strong hand cradling the back of her head as he pressed slow and lingering kisses to the crown of it, his own eyes brimming with tears of their own as he knew that the violent man in her nightmare hadn't been her Uncle as it usually was. Georg knew without doubt that the man she was referring to was whoever it was that had attacked her whilst she had been out on her walk late the previous night. He also knew, however, that she would be reluctant to tell him the truth about her ordeal and that she'd think up an excuse.

'Maria?' He hummed gently into her soft strawberry-blonde hair as he stroked the tips of his fingers soothingly against the warm skin at the back of her neck, his beautiful wife lifting her head in order to meet his gaze before he brought his strong hand up in order to slowly wipe away the angry tears that had gotten caught upon her cheeks. 'Do you promise me - with all your heart - that nothing happened to you whilst you were out walking last night?' He asked with nothing but deep love in his eyes as he softly stroked a strand of her hair back beneath her ear, his heart sinking slightly as she nodded slowly after laying in silence for several long seconds. 'Then this... _he..._ were you referring to your Uncle?' Again, she only nodded stiffly without uttering a single word.

'I hadn't finished cleaning out the stables by the time he returned home and he lost his temper with me.' She whispered softly as she toyed with the dark chest hair beneath her fingers. 'I don't know why I'm still having these nightmares about when I was a girl; I ran away from him five years ago and I had hoped that after we married they would stop because I wouldn't have to sleep alone anymore. They clearly haven't, though.' Even though she dropped his gaze once again then and lowered her own down to his chest as she span the coarse hair there around her fingers, he knew that she wasn't telling him a complete lie.

She _was_ still having nightmares about what she had been forced to endure throughout her childhood. It wasn't rare for her to wake him in the early hours of the morning as she whimpered and tossed and turned in her sleep. Sometimes he would wake to find her curled up in the chair at her vanity with soft tears upon her cheeks as sat wrapped in her dressing gown, her only words to him being a tearful apology for not being as strong as he thought she was. Knowing that she'd been hurt so badly as a child by someone who's responsibility it was to protect and love her made Georg feel sick to his stomach.

He had to admit, however, as he held the woman that he loved more than life itself in his arms and he could hear her soft sniffles and hiccups in result to the intensity of her previous sobs, that that nauseating feeling was beginning to feel more like he was being stabbed repeatedly in the heart. His wife wasn't malicious. Yes, she was lying to his face about what had happened to her and about what the topic of her nightmare had been, but Georg knew deep within his heart that she was only keeping her ordeal a secret for his sake.

He knew that she thought he wanted to murder the man who had preyed upon her and who had brought harm to her the previous evening, and she was right to think so. As he held her close to him and ran his strong hand comfortingly along her spine through her nightgown, he wanted nothing more than to make his way to every residence in Salzburg and pummel every single man he came across until one of them confessed to violating his wife. 'Georg?' He was brought back to reality a few moments later by Maria's timid and soft voice, a loving smile appearing upon his lips as he met her gaze and extended the hand that wasn't running along her spine out to caress her warm cheek.

'Yes, my sweet?' He replied softly.

'I'm sorry.' She whimpered.

'You have nothing to apologize for.' He reassured her before leaning forwards slightly in order to plant a warm and tender kiss upon her soft forehead.

'I hurt you.' She reminded him before she reached up to stroke the tips of her fingers lightly against the cut beside his eye, flinching slightly when he hissed sharply in response. 'I didn't mean to.'

'I know that, you daft beggar.' He chuckled affectionately. 'You were having a nightmare, darling, you were hardly in control of your actions.'

'Will you let me take care of it?' She asked with a small smile.

'My love, I will be fine.' He told her, stroking her hair tenderly. 'I was in the Navy, you know, I got wounds that were a lot more serious than simple cuts from my wife's fingernails.'

'Please, Georg?' As he looked into her eyes then he saw that she genuinely desired to tend to his cut and so he nodded with a gentle sigh as he caressed her face.

'Very well.' He smirked. 'If you promise to kiss it better afterwards.'

'Obviously.' She responded before leaning forwards to brush a soft and slow kiss against his lips, lingering slightly upon his lower as she drew back. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' He reassured her as he traced her sharp jaw with the tips of his fingers. 'Now go and find the medical kit before I die from this serious injury.' He teased.

Despite the intense throbbing in her side as she stood from the bed, Maria gave him a loving eye-roll before making her way into their en-suite bathroom. She closed the door quietly behind herself after flicking on the light, her eyes falling closed for just a moment as she held her side and breathed deeply through the throbbing ache. She knew that the bruises on her sides, back, legs and hips would have grown darker over the last couple of hours and even though the thought of seeing the damage that Herr Zeller had done made her feel physically sick, she knew that it was for the best. So, after lowering herself down rather painfully onto the toilet seat she began to carefully slide her nightgown up her legs.

She couldn't stop the trembling sigh from leaving her lips as she saw the first dark bruise upon her right calf, her eyes stinging with tears as there were several smaller bruises up her thigh. A sharp gasp escaped her, however, when she reached her side and saw the reason for the intense throbbing, There was a large purple bruise covering her side and also part of her hip and just the thought of Georg seeing such a serious mark upon her body made her heart pound. She would have to get ready for the day and for bed away from him now. It was the only way. 'Maria?' There was a soft knocking upon the bathroom door then, Maria pulling her nightgown back down as she gazed at the only piece of furniture separating she and her husband. 'Are you alright in there, darling?'

'Yes, Georg, I'm just making sure I've got everything.' She lied, quickly retrieving the medical kit from the cabinet before unlocking the bathroom door and smiling up at her husband as he stood before her. 'Come on.' She took his strong hand gently in her own then before leading him slowly over to the bed and allowing him to sit down on the edge of it, a loving smile spreading across her lips as he patted his knee gently before he helped her to carefully lower herself down onto it. 'I really am sorry for hurting you, Georg.' She sighed as she took in the sight of the minor cut beside his eye, her husband shaking his head before he pressed a soft kiss onto her cheek.

'You were asleep.' He reminded her. 'Blaming you for scratching me during a nightmare is as pointless as me blaming Brigitta for _biting_ me during one when she was five.' The two of them shared a gentle chuckle at that, Maria smiling gently up at him.

'This might sting a little.' She warned as she carefully poured some of the solution from the bottle onto a cotton pad, slipping one of her arms around her husband's neck to steady herself after screwing the cap back onto the bottle. She then brought the hand that held the cotton pad up to his face before delicately stroking it against the cut, a gentle giggle escaping her when he hissed sharply as the solution seeped into the wound. _'I was in the Navy, I got more serious wounds than this.'_ She mocked with a teasing lilt in her voice as she brushed her thumb lovingly against the back of his neck. 'Just try and grit your teeth for me, darling, and then I'll kiss it better once I've put a plaster on it.' Georg nuzzled his nose gently against her own, smiling up at her.

'Or you could just kiss me now and take my mind off of the pain?' He suggested. 'I like my idea a little better than yours.'

'Just hold still.' She sighed lovingly before returning to the task at hand, smiling warmly down at her husband as she saw him wince every now and again as she cleaned his wound so that it wouldn't become septic. 'And...all done.' She announced after she'd carefully placed a plaster over the cut, both her arms slipping slowly around his neck as he wrapped his arm loosely around her middle so not to put any pressure on her bad side. 'And now I believe I promised you a kiss, didn't I?' She hummed with a smile.

'I believe you did.' He replied as he brushed his thumb lightly against her hip. She stretched up slightly then in order to brush her lips softly against the plaster that covered the wound beside his eye, a soft smile appearing upon her lips as she pressed a soft kiss to the warm skin just beneath it before beginning to kiss her way slowly down his face. She allowed her soft lips to travel warmly across his cheek once she had reached it, her gaze meeting her husband's just for a moment when her lips came to hover just above his own before he brought his hand up to cradle the back of her head protectively and he drew her close in order to capture her lower lip - the swelling of which had now gone down considerably - in a soft kiss. Georg reveled in his wife's soft sigh of contentment against his lips as she leaned into him slightly, her fingers stroking against the dark hair at the nape of her neck before her rosy lips curled up into a smile against his when she felt him deepen their kiss considerably. 'Best get-well kiss ever.'

'Mmm...' She hummed softly. 'Georg?'

'Yes, darling?' He raised his brow at her when he drew back from her lips a few moments later, his heart sinking once again as he saw her eyes sparkle with soft tears.

'These nightmares,' She sighed. 'I don't think they're going to stop any time soon. I was just wondering if you think it might be best if I-' She cut herself of.

'If you what?' He furrowed his brow slightly.

'If I move back into my old bedroom.' She sighed deeply, watching the crease in her husband's brow grow more defined. 'Whilst these nightmares are going on you're not going to get a wink of sleep and you're going to be forced to pin me down every night to stop me from being a danger to you and to myself whilst I'm asleep and it isn't fair, darling. I thought that if I move back into the Governess bedroom - at least until my nightmares have lessened - it might be easier for you.' Georg cupped her face gently in his hands then, drawing her close enough to place a long and firm kiss upon her lips as he brushed his thumbs tenderly against her cheeks and felt her thick dark eyelashes flutter delicately against his as she sighed deeply against him.

'You are not going anywhere, do you understand me?' Maria winced internally at his words, only able to hear Herr Zeller's gruff voice as he'd barked the same four words at her the previous evening. 'You are my wife and I love you and you're staying here.'

'I just - I feel like such a nuisance.' She admitted tearfully. 'I feel as though I'm just a burden on you.'

'No, Maria, no.' He soothed as he allowed her to lay her head down on his shoulder and he began to rock her slowly in his arms as she sobbed softly into his neck, his lips pressed softly against her hairline. 'You are anything _but_ a nuisance, darling, I swear.'

'I hope you do, Georg, because I would hate to ever be a nuisance to you.' She sniffed. 'I'd just hate it.'

'You never have been and you never will be, Maria, I mean that with my whole heart and soul. Just as much as I mean it when I tell you I love you.' He whispered.

'I love you too.' She smiled slightly when she allowed herself to meet his gaze, her gentle blue eyes glistening with tears. 'I love you too.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this chapter and please comment to let me know what you thought! See you all next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Maria couldn't help but sigh deeply as she was stood out on the garden terrace after breakfast later that morning and there was a steaming cup of tea in her hands as she gazed out over the sparkling lake, running the pad of her thumb absentmindedly along the rim of her teacup whilst she observed the swans gliding gracefully through the clear water. They seemed so carefree and serene. Unlike her. Every muscle in her body had been sore and stiff when she had woken in Georg's arms just an hour-and-a-half earlier - a clear reminder of the fact that even though Zeller had plagued her dreams in the early hours of that morning, what he had done to her was anything but a dream - and it had taken a considerable amount of effort and caused her a considerable amount of _pain_ to climb slowly out of bed without rousing her husband. She hadn't recognised herself as she'd looked at her reflection in the mirror after making it to the bathroom. The bruises that tarnished the once milky skin of her face had grown darker and there had been a large purple bruise circling her right eye. The swelling of her lower lip had gone down considerably though, which was a start, but she couldn't deny that the sight of her bruised face and black eye had caused tears to spring to her eyes. Georg couldn't possibly find her beautiful now.

The layers of powder that she had applied to her bruised face might've been enough to fool her husband and children, but she couldn't fool her heart. She would always know about the ugliness that hid beneath the mask.

Deep within her heart she knew that her husband could tell that something had happened to her when she had been out walking the previous evening. She never had been a very convincing liar. She could still remember a time in her early childhood when her mother had smacked her for lying in order to cover up the fact that she had been the one to break her favourite vase by knocking it off the table whilst she'd been playing with her doll. She had vowed to herself - after knowing what it felt like to be struck by her mother - to never tell a lie again. She had stayed true to that vow for so many years and now she'd broken it. It broke her heart to lie to Georg; to see the pain in his eyes every time she denied that someone had assaulted her the previous evening. She knew that his own heart was breaking to see her in such physical and emotional pain and not be able to support her through it, but she knew that she had to remain strong and refrain from revealing a single detail about that evening. _'Better a broken heart than a broken neck.'_ That was what she needed to keep reminding herself of.

The children had been thrilled to see her when she and Georg had gone down to breakfast earlier that morning and she had adored the way that their faces had lit up, but she knew that Georg had seen her grimace in pain when Gretl and Marta had run to embrace her. She had masked the throbbing pain in her side to the best of her ability as she had forced a smile to form upon her lips and she had pressed countless slow kisses to the dark and fair heads of her youngest daughters, yet she had been unable to stop the soft gasp from escaping her lips when she had returned to her full height from her crouched position. _'Don't fuss.'_ She had told her husband - probably a touch too firmly - as she had seen the concern in his eyes before she had made her way to her seat opposite his at the other end of the dining table. She hadn't intended to be so sharp and firm with him, it was just that his constant fretting was already beginning to become suffocating. She felt as though she couldn't even take a breath without his concern-filled gaze on her, and even though she knew it was only because he was concerned for her and her welfare it was slowly beginning to grate on her. The longer he looked at her the more likely it was that he would notice more and more differences about her. And the thought of it frightened her.

Another long and deep sigh escaped her as she gazed further out at the mountains that stood proudly in the distance. She remembered how she'd once sang freely on them with the seven enchanting children that she now had the honour of calling her own, the eight of them laughing and squealing together as they had run through the grass without a care in the world. Those days were in the past now, though. From now on, everything that she did would be shadowed by what Herr Zeller had done to her. She knew that she'd never be able to feel safe anywhere other than the Villa again and that she would never be able to take her children on an outing if her husband wasn't with her. She'd always be looking over her shoulder. As she continued to take in the scenery before her whilst standing upon the garden terrace she felt a pair of strong hands come to settle upon her waist from behind, a sharp gasp escaping her as she stiffened instantly. 'Shh...it's only me, my darling.' She let out a trembling sigh of relief at her husbands loving voice in her ear, her heart pounding as her eyes drifted closed.

'I'm sorry.' She whispered. 'I'm just a little on edge this morning.'

'Darling, you're exhausted.' He pointed out as he brushed his thumbs lightly against the curves of her sides. 'Your clearly in discomfort from whatever happened to you last night, and I'm worried about you.'

'Wait, what do you mean _"whatever happened to you last night"_?' Maria asked gently, her brow slightly furrowed as she gazed up at her husband. 'I _told_ you what happened, Georg, I _fell._ Are you suggesting I was lying?'

'My love, you know I would never call you a liar.' He sighed. 'But you can hardly take two steps without wincing, Maria. You can't sit or lie down without clutching your side and I can tell you're in agony. You've told me you had a fall whilst you were out walking last night, and I believe you when you say that, but I can't help feeling as though there's more. I feel like there is more to this story than you're telling me and all I'm asking is for you to be completely honest with me, darling.' Maria scoffed gently in disbelief then before she removed herself from his hold, Georg sighing deeply as he kept his gaze upon her and he knew that his words had struck a nerve.

'So in other words, you're saying that I lied to you last night!' She exclaimed gently. 'When I told you that no-one hurt me, you didn't believe me did you!?'

'Maria, there is no way on earth that a fall as minor as the one that you say you took can do so much damage.' He told her. 'You can't even turn over in bed without whimpering in pain!'

'I can't believe you don't trust me!' She whimpered tearfully. 'You're my husband!'

'Exactly.' He growled. 'I am your husband and it is my responsibility to love and to protect you, Maria. How in the world do you expect me to be able to keep you safe and to support you if you won't tell me the truth?'

'Can't you just take my word for it?' She whispered, her voice cracking as the tears sparkled in her crystal blue eyes. 'Isn't my word enough?'

'Maria,' He sighed lovingly as he approached her slowly, feeling her tremble violently beneath his hands as he cupped her warm face. 'You're scared. You're in pain and I can't do anything to take that away for you unless you speak to me.' Maria felt her heart break as she saw the slight desperation in his eyes, a trembling sigh escaping her as he brushed his thumb soothingly against her cheeks. 'Please, darling, I need you to talk to me.'

'No.' She said firmly. 'Because you don't believe a word I say.'

And, with that, she backed away from him before turning on her heel and making her way back inside the Villa, leaving a disheartened Georg standing alone on the terrace as he released a troubled sigh.

* * *

It was later that evening when Maria was stood in the bedroom that she shared alongside her husband as she slowly zipped up the back of her evening gown, a gentle whimper of discomfort escaping her as the muscles in her back twinged. The discomfort that she felt had only increased as the day had progressed and she was quite certain that the children were beginning to notice that she was in a considerable amount of pain. Brigitta had been the first to pick up on the fact that something wasn't right with her - though there was no surprise there as the eleven-year-old noticed everything, much like her father - and had appeared entirely unconvinced when, once the searing pain had worn off after she'd lowered herself down onto the settee beside Marta, Maria had lovingly reassured her that she was alright and that she'd simply slept awkwardly the previous evening.

Neither she nor her husband had said a single word to one another since their minor disagreement after breakfast earlier that day, but Maria knew that she was the only one to blame for the awkward silences that they'd sat in whenever they had been alone together. She had been so cold and unfeeling towards him that morning and she felt like a complete and utter beast as she carefully slipped her hands into her evening gloves now, a deep sigh escaping her as she fastened the buttons that held the gloves closed at her wrists. She hated herself for the way that she was treating her husband; the way that she was treating the incredible man who never treated _her_ with anything but deep love and respect, but if pushing him away and giving him the cold shoulder was the only way to stop him finding out about what had transpired the previous evening and the only way to protect him from the noose, so be it.

Just as she had said to the Reverend Mother less than twenty-four hours earlier, she would rather leave her husband in the dark and still have him with her rather than fall into his arms and sob, revealing everything, and have him go out and murder Herr Zeller to defend her honour before being ripped away from she and their children forever.

She felt her heart begin to pound when she heard the door squeak softly upon its hinges as it opened a few moments later, her heart shattering as she slowly turned around to face her husband. She could see how much pain she was causing him by pushing him away and refusing to tell him everything about that night; it was clear in those enchanting midnight blue eyes of his that she couldn't help but lose herself in, but she knew deep in her heart that she was doing the right thing. That was what she was going to keep telling herself, anyway. Neither one of them moved an inch for several long seconds once he'd closed the door slowly behind him, the two of them simply looking into one another's eyes as her hands were clasped in front of her. Then, slower than she had ever seen him, Georg began to approach her. There was no expression on his face to indicate that he was angry with her for shutting him out or for being so cold towards him earlier that day, but there was also no expression on his face to indicate that he had forgiven her for doing so either. His face was unreadable.

As he came to a halt directly in front of her a few moments later he reached out slowly in order to take her slight waist warmly in his strong hands, her hands unclasping in order to come to settle upon his chest through the thin material of his shirt. She couldn't deny that she felt her heart race when he lowered his head in order to brush the softest of kisses against the corner of her mouth, her eyes fluttering closed of their own accord as she revelled in the softness of his lips against her skin. Her crystal blue eyes opened slowly when he pulled away slightly just seconds later, her breath shaking slightly as she watched his gaze drop from hers, down to her lips and back again before he removed one hand from her waist in order to cup the curve of her cheek in its palm. She felt him stroke the pad of his thumb tenderly against the warmth of her cheek then, nothing but slight hurt and deep love glistening in his eyes before he lowered his head to capture her lower lip in a long and slow kiss. Maria was unable to prevent her eyes from fluttering closed, a sweet sigh escaping her rosy lips.

His warm and soft lips felt heavenly against her own as he continued to kiss her languidly and she slowly began to respond, the strong hand of his that was situated upon the curve of her waist slipping warmly around to the small of her back through her dress before he pulled her further into him. Maria could have wept at how gentle he was being with her, each graze of his lips against her own being lighter than the beat of a butterfly's wings as he stroked the thumb of one hand soothingly against her porcelain cheek and the thumb of the other lightly against the silk material of her evening gown. The sweep of his tongue against the seam of her lower lip was so slow and delicate that she was simply powerless to resist parting her lips beneath his own, one of her perfectly sculpted hands travelling up his chest and into his thick dark hair as she hummed lovingly against his mouth and permitted him to deepen their kiss. Her eyes delayed opening when their kiss came to a natural end a short while later, her breath heavy and trembling along with her husband's as their foreheads kissed.

'I'm so sorry.' His breath was warm against her face as he whispered gently to her after standing in silence with her pressed against him for several long minutes, Maria's crystal blue eyes fluttering open before she cast her gaze up to meet his own and saw an abundance of love and devotion shining in his deep midnight blue eyes. 'I never should have treated you like that, it was unforgiveable. I never should have bullied you like that.'

'You didn't bully me.' She sniffed tearfully as she stroked the dark hair at the back of his head with the tips of her fingers. 'I know you're just concerned.'

'It's just -' He swallowed the angry tears that were clawing their way up his throat. 'The thought of something happening to you makes me feel physically sick. The thought of someone putting their hands on you with the intention of bringing you harm kills me, Maria, and I detest the visions that I get of you in a position like that. A position where you need me to protect you and I'm not there. You're the most important thing in the world to me, darling. Yes, I love the children more than I could ever hope to tell them, but you are my wife. You are the only person who truly understands me and who listens when I need them to. I almost lost you once back in August when you ran back to the Abbey after Elsa made you feel as though you had no choice but to leave, and the thought of losing you a second time - losing you for _good_ \- I can't tell you how much that hurts me.'

'Oh, my angel.' Maria whimpered as she cupped the sides of his neck tenderly in her hands before rising up onto her tiptoes to brush a slow kiss against his lips. 'You could never lose me, Georg, never in a million years.'

'I blamed myself, you know.' He admitted as he returned both his hands to her waist. 'I blamed myself for how worried I was about you last night, because if I hadn't had spoken to you in the way that I did you wouldn't have gone out for that walk in the first place. I have never been that terrified before in my life, Maria, not even when I was fighting in the war. If anything happened to you-' He was silenced with a warm and tender kiss.

'Listen to me.' She told him firmly before taking his hand gently in her own and leading him over to the bed that they shared, a gentle sigh escaping her as she allowed him to sit down slowly on the edge of the mattress before she lowered herself down carefully onto his knee. 'You are _never_ going to lose me, Georg von Trapp. Every night when you go to sleep and every morning when you wake up I am going to be in your arms, I mean that. Do you really think that I would let you lose me after I waited so long to have the title of your wife?' She cupped his cheek lovingly in her gloved palm. 'You are never going to have to sleep alone again, darling, and you are not to blame for anything that happened last night. I was childish and immature for walking out of the Villa the way that I did and I set an appalling example for our children, which I'm so ashamed of myself for.'

'I gather we both could do with some lessons on controlling our temper, my love.' He chuckled softly as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

'Yes, we could.' She giggled in response. 'And, for the record, I'm sorry for the way that I jumped down your throat earlier. You didn't deserve any of that.'

'Yes, my darling, I did.' He sighed as he ran his hand along the curve of her side. 'I should never have pushed you that far, and I'm so sorry for that.'

'Why don't we leave this morning in the past now?' She suggested. 'There's no need for either of us to hold that over one another's heads and it was just a stupid spat anyway.'

'I just-' He sighed. 'I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I really _am_ worried about you, sweetheart.'

'I know you are.' She caressed his face, smiling lovingly as she cast her gaze up to the plaster beside his eye momentarily before stretching up to kiss it. 'But you've got to stop.'

'I love you.' He told her plainly as he cupped her face in his hands, her heart racing as she was sent back to that magical night in the gazebo just nine months ago.

'I love you too.' She whispered, cupping the sides of his neck gently before leaning forwards to kiss his lips tenderly. 'So much.'

* * *

Georg couldn't stifle the deep sigh that escaped him as he lay silently behind the beautiful woman that was his wife later that evening and his chin was resting comfortably upon her shoulder as she slept peacefully in his arms, her back pressed flush against his chest as their fingers were laced beside her upon the mattress and her nose was buried deep into her pillow as she released the softest of snores. Georg knew that he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. He may have made amends with Maria but that didn't change the fact that he knew she was lying to his face. Despite how painful it was to have her lie to him about what'd really happened the previous evening, he knew that he had been out of order for the way that he'd pushed her to open up to him that morning. He knew that what she really needed at that moment was for him to love and support her.

He knew that the truth would come out eventually; it always did. He just had to be patient with her.

No matter how agonizing it was going to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading this chapter and please comment to let me know what you thought! See you all next time!


End file.
